Scanning transparent media such as photographic slides, negatives, and the like, requires several activities. First, the transparent media is viewed on a light table or, if a light table is not available, by simply holding the transparent media up to a light source such as a ceiling light or window in order to select the correct negative, frame, etc. The selected transparent media must then be oriented correctly on a scanner platen. Since the scanner platen is typically not illuminated until scanning begins, any transparent media placed on the scanner platen is not viewable thereon. Thus, the transparent media must be oriented “blindly” on the scanner platen, i.e., the user not only must remember the orientation of the transparent media as it was viewed in the light, but he or she must then transfer the correct orientation of the transparent media to the scanner platen. With some scanner systems, a removable template may be provided which is adapted to hold and align transparencies on the scanner platen. While a light table or the like may be utilized to correctly orient the transparent media within a template, the template itself must then be “blindly” oriented on the scanner.
In order to scan transparent media on a flatbed scanner, a transparency adapter must be used. A conventional transparency adapter includes a light source which projects light through the transparent media and through the scanner platen, so that an image of the transparent media may be captured by a sensor, typically a charge-coupled device (CCD), in the scanner. Thus, not only does the scanner have its own light source, but also both the transparency adapter and the separate light table each have their own light source. While transparent media is more easily viewed with a light table than with a secondary source of light such as a ceiling light or a window, providing a separate light table along with a transparency adapter, each with its own light source, is costly and inefficient.